Pandanad is a tiny village in Chengannur taluk of Aleppey district in Kerala that became the face of devastation in the recent floods. The river Pampa flows through Pandanad, dividing it into Pandanad South and Pandanad West.
The villagers here had long learned to live with the rising and receding waters every monsoon, but floodwaters that gushed through their homes this year was beyond their imagination. In August this year, the most devastating flood in Kerala’s history left 370 dead, and 12.5 lakh people stranded in various relief camps across the state. Government of India declared the floods a Level 3 calamity or ‘calamity of a severe nature’. Of all the places in the state, Pandanad suffered the most with 4 dead and 95% of homes washed away leaving almost every soul in the village affected and homeless. The first phase was to rebuild the Panchayath Office, as most of the residents had lost all the documents. The GIFT team were able to secure used PCs donated by various IT firms in Technopark, Trivandrum. The GIFT also got the networking for the entire office up and running.